Four in five U.S. homes now have a smart TV, accounting for three in five TV sets, according to the fifth annual Hub Entertainment Research “Evolution of the TV Set” survey, which found streaming is growing commensurate with penetration of the intelligent displays. About 64 percent of viewers use their smart TVs to stream video, while roughly half use the connected devices to stream music or other audio content, the study found. The 74 percent of households that own at least one smart TV is up from 61 percent in 2020. Additionally, Horowitz Research found that consumers are increasingly turning to curated collections and hubs for content discovery. Read more

Roku’s Q2 earnings came with the news that it added 1.9 million new active accounts and became the top selling TV OS in the U.S., according to the company. Roku now touts more than 73.5 million active accounts on Roku Players and Roku TVs, and claims that its number of sets sold beat the next three manufacturers combined. The company posted Q2 revenue of $847.2 million, an 11 percent increase year-over-year, against a net loss of $107.6 million. Advertising-supported Platform sales were up 11 percent, to $744 million, despite continuing troubles sector-wide. Read more

The cost of a data breach can run as high as $4.54 million today, up from $3.86 million in 2020, according to an IBM study that says the fastest-growing — and costliest — type of cyberattack is ransomware. That’s why more companies are turning to cyber insurance to hedge their bets. Last year, the global market for such policies was estimated to be in the $13.33 billion range, and projected to reach $84.62 billion by 2030. Because the increased frequency of attacks has resulted in increased payouts, insurance providers now often require proof of adequate security measures. Read more

Hundreds of amendments are queued up for possible addition to the vast annual defense policy bill. Among those that senators are considering include regulations that address artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and proposals to test election systems for vulnerabilities. Adding cyber measures to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has become a tradition in recent years because it is “must-pass” legislation and renewed annually. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) hopes to have the Senate’s version of the bill prior to the August recess that commences at the end of this week. Read more

The Senate has cleared two children’s online safety bills despite pushback from civil liberties groups that say the digital surveillance used to monitor behavior will result in an Internet less safe for kids. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) are intended to address a mental health crisis experts blame in large part on social media, but critics say the bills could cause more harm than good by forcing social media firms to collect more user data as part of enforcement. The bills — which cleared the Senate Commerce Committee by unanimous vote — are also said to reduce access to encrypted services. Read more